Classical Athens

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Athens (Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athênai) was a prominent polis (city-state) of ancient Greece, located in the peninsula of Attica. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC and remained in place for almost two centuries except for a few brief interruptions. During the Classical period, Athens was a centre for the arts, learning, and philosophy, and is widely referred to as a cradle of Western civilization largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements. Ten years after its victory at Marathon, Athens formed an alliance with Sparta and other Greek city-states, which defeated the invading Achaemenid Empire at Salamis and Plataea. In the aftermath of the Second Persian invasion of Greece during the 470s, Athens led by Cimon established hegemony over a wide range of other Greek polities around the Aegean, known as the Delian League, reaching its peak of power in the 450s and 440s BC during the age of Pericles. In the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), the Athenian empire...

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